Okie Dokie. Here is where I am at:

I was able to tone out the lines going to each room. I discovered that part of the problem was that the main port I was trying to use in the wall wasn't connected to a wire...DOH. Nice of the builder to leave a blank ethernet jack in the wall. Undeterred I proceeded to use the phone line (also Cat5) and tone it out for data. I will just put the cordless phone in another room. I then plugged the DSL modem into an empty slot in the telephone panel and got signal. I ran the wire from there to my wireless router. I then plugged in the cat5 wires that go to the three rooms into the computer slots on the back of the router.

Now, I am back at my iMac and plugged the ethernet cable from the Mac to the wall port. I am using AirPort and my signal is great now but I can't figure out how to tell if that ethernet port is active or not.

Any ideas?

Two ways:

1) turn off airport on your iMac
2) Look for a connect light on your router

Well, I have internet to my media room and the loft where my son's computer is. The line to the office tones out correctly and the router lights up that the iMac is connected, but for some reason I can't get the iMac to use the ethernet. I must be doing something wrong there. The good news is that I have full signal on the wireless now and the internet is MUCH faster. Must've been losing packets or something before.

I have one more question. There is also a coaxial hub in the panel for cable TV which is currently not being used. My Dish Network is wired into there, the guy just used splitters and such. Is there any reason I couldn't use the coax hub to get Dish into every room instead of just the 3 rooms the guy installed? Would the HD stuff make it too?

Oh, someone asked for pics...here you go:

The Panel:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1182694277.jpg


Close up of the Telephone Hub:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1182694164.jpg

My Media Room (this has nothing to do with the question, I just wanted to show off...built it myself):
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1182694381.jpg

You'll have to get a Mac tech to figure out the connection issue. I'm just a booger-eatin' cable guy.

I do not believe you can just split satellite signals with a simple splitter/distribution block. I believe you need equipment (black box) that does this.

Thanks for the pics. Ask your builder for a refund. That is awful work. (Media room looks good, though!).

Your switch/router/dsl modem should be in that box. Then, the signal will be distributed throughout the home down those Cat-5 cables (disregard the phone block..that's for voice only). If you need a wireless signal, you can install a WAP at the end of one of the runs where necessary.

Here's a rudimentary diagram I found on the net. This should explain what I'm trying to describe:

http://www.jonessoft.pwp.blueyonder....is/network.jpg